Could someone pleaes explain what the diffrence between the strats
First off

FENDER Standard Strat Maple

Then

FENDER Standard Strat HSS Maple

FENDER Standard Strat MN

FENDER Standard Strat Rosewood ( clearly thats the type of wood to build the instrument ?

And last of all what is the Stratocaster Mexican Standard Series ? what does the Mexican name donate please.
Got my eye on a FENDER Standard Strat HSS RW - Midnight Wine

Thanks in advance.

Maple and rosewood are the 2 common woods used for the fretboard.
Maple is usually finished with the same clear coat as the rest of the guitar neck.
Rosewood is almost always bare and requires a little oil once a year or so.
Traditional wisdom says maple will sound brighter than rosewood. That is a topic of much debate with the general concensus around here being that if any difference does actually exist it is minimal at best and not enough of a reason to either choose or exclude an instrument except for aesthetic purposes only.

Alder and Ash are the 2 common woods used for the body. Ash is generally a little heavier than alder and is thought to be brighter sounding as well. Again, for a newbie they are basically interchangeable except for looks. Usually ash is selected for bodies with transparent or translucent finishes because it generally has a more aesthetically pleasing (or interesting) grain pattern.

HSS and SSS refer to the configuration of the pickups where HSS means humbucker/single/single and SSS means single/single/single where the first place indicates bridge position and the last place indicates neck position.

Humbuckers are usually but not always double wide pickups in which one side is wound 180 degrees apart from the other side which eliminates 60 cycle hum that single coil pickups can but don't always "pickup" from nearby 110V AC electrical loads like overhead lights and such, especially flourescent lights.

Not mentioned in your queries is the difference between MIA and MIM where MIA = Made in USA and MIM means Made in Mexico. Both are quite similar with a small number of exceptions. Generally speaking MIMs usually have smaller frets called "vintage" and 6 point trems where the bridge is fastened with 6 screws. Also MIMs usually have slightly cheaper electrical components. MIAs usually come with larger frets called "medium jumbo", bridges mounted at 2 points rather than 6 and slightly better electrical components. None of these differences are written in stone and they are only generalizations. Dig deeply enough through the product line up and you can find almost any conceivable combination of attributes and features.

Hope that helps you make sense of things. Good luck!!

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

Many thanks guys.
My tutor has agreed to take me Fender shopping, He's a 35 year Fender man and a great tutor.

I will take his word for it, obviously the feel of the guitar will be the deciding factor.I've been told no two feel the same, TRUE or FALSE

LoL a million and one questions

my view is that you could sit down and play 100 strats in a row, all off the same production line - and there would be very little difference between them, but one will still somehow "just feel right".

I owned a Fender Lonestar (that was stolen from a gig later ) and I played EVERY guitar in the guitar shop before deciding on it - including upwards of 30 strats and teles, several PRS, dozens of Ibanez, 6 or 7 Gibsons and even lower brands like Stagg, vintage and a couple of others. The one I bought (the Fender Lonestar with a rosewood fretboard) stood out from all the rest for some reason. And I didn't even take it straight home - I had the luthier in the shop install a schaller floating trem - when I got it home, I switched out the pups and scalloped the neck too - so it was about a month before I even got aroudn to playing it properly - but it felt like an old friend when I did.

I wouldn't go as far as to say no two guitars feel the same, but the guitar that is right for you will be the only one of its kind

True - good luck hunting!

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Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

Thanks yet again guys.
Stand by for more questions BTW.
Off for two weeks in the sun to Spain this Monday. Ahhhh resting round the pool with my Zen plugged into my ears.

Not true anymore, was true before 2006. MIM standards now have medium jumbo frets, tinted necks, and the pots and switch are the same as the USA standard minus the delta tone indent pot, but they are CTS and CRL.

You can't go wrong, from a price point perspective, with the MIM guitars. In fact, the Squier line, which is built in China, has a series called The Classic Vibe, which something you might look into, if cost is a factor. Check out the products section.

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"Another day in paradise!"

I have a minimum of £500 sterling to spend. I ave been looking at the Classic Series Strat for a little under my price range.

You can find some used American made strats for 500.

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"Epitaph on a blues musician’s tombstone: “I didn’t wake up this morning”" Davy Knowles


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Can't go wrong with a MIM Classic Series...I have three other strats and the MIM Classic Series is amoung my favorite...

Here is a pic to get your GAS going...



FWIW

T2

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What time is it? It's Fender Time.

Ship it over to me when you tire of it buddy, LoL

Neat looking instrument.